The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-05-20
MoNoPoLIBs AND MONoPoL1Es.


Announcement is made of new organiza-
ton at Toledo O.. called the Producers Oil
Exchange, the object of which is to fghb the
Standard Oil Company, and tforce the price
of oil up to what it is really worth" The
organization embraces the oil producers of
northern Ohio, who claim that the price of oil
has been pushed below its intrinsic value by
the Standard Oil Company to retard the de-
velopment of the Ohio fields. They claim,
further, that the Standard company have al
of the Ohio fields, and that eff the producers
will organize, build their own pipelines and
refneries, they could form powerful opposi-
ton to the Standard and obtain fair price
for the OIL" This is something new under
the sun-an organization to prevent wealthy
corporation, generally regarded as monopoly,
from reducing the price of OIL A very COM
mon and very plausible argument against
so-caIled monopolies is that they
force mp the price of the article or articles
which they control and thereby Cypress and
rob the people. This is the spirit and ten
dency of real monopoly, and undoubted-
ly it has often been done. But the word
monopoly" is very loosely used nowadays,
and most loosely, of course, by those who do
not know the meaning of the word. Thus,
national banks have been denounced as mo-
nopolies by demagogues, in and out of Con-
gress, who hoped thereby to make themselves
solid with the masses. Yet the national-bank
law is free and open to the world, and under
it anybody may engage In banking
who conforms to its provisions. All
railroads are generally referred to by
demagogues as monopolies, yet the bust
of railroad building is open to the world.
The main difficulty is in raising the necessary
means, and that cannot be done by whereases
and resolutions. The Standard Oil Company
is commonly spoken of as a monopoly. Is it
anything more than very wealthy and pow
erful combination, and when the facts are
sifted down has it not perhaps done as much
good as harm, in business way? The ma
country the best currency it ever had, and
have kept the rate Of interest reasonably low.
The railroad monopolies have contributed
their full share to the development and pros
perity of the country. The Standard
oil monopoly has enormously increased the
production of oil, vastly improved the quality
of the refined article, and very greatly re-
duced the price to consumers. These are
practical benefits and if the Standard Oil
Company has made "big money" it is not so
certain but that the people have received an
equivalent in the improved quality and re-
duced price of OIL This new Toledo organi-
cation says the Standard company have made
oil too cheap, and they propose to fight the
big monopoly on that line. We fail to see
how the people would be benefited by the sue
cess of the new movement. The people want
the best and cheapest oil they can get, and
they do not care who furnishes it. The prop
osition to force the Standard Oil Company to
put up the price Of oil for the philanthropic
purpose of enabling the Toledo combine to
develop the Ohio oil field, is about as absurd
as the scheme to pipe gas to Indianapolis by a
town-meetinp